The Hindu Business Line : Virtuous cycle of results

Every leader dreams of taking his organisation to the pinnacle. But the trek to the top is paved with heartbreak and hard work. Milestone after milestone is conquered with discipline and dedication.

Not only must the leader keep himself on track and on target in every possible way, he must ensure that everyone around him does the same.

By observing, communicating, analysing, deciding, encouraging and above all, leading by example, he motivates and inspires his team to deliver superlative results.

Matter of consistency

Results, though, can’t be like a flash in the pan! Credibility and sustainability can only be achieved through consistency. So how can the leader keep his team primed for top results all the time? How can he maintain enthusiasm and focus across the organisation continuously? How can he prevent energy from draining away? How can the organisation be detoxed to retain its creativity? The answer could lie in understanding what I call the virtuous cycle of results.

Results are not manufactured out of thin air. They flow from the complex interplay of skills, attitudes and resources.

This interplay occurs in real-time when the external environment interfaces with the internal environment within individuals. When this interface is managed effectively the individual attains his potential. Attaining potential is actually building a servo system linkage between the external and the internal environment so that each feeds into the other.

So, let’s start at the beginning. Suppose you trust your team. The message you send out to them is one of complete acceptance, as individuals and professionals. This is the essence of self-esteem and confidence. At its core, trust implies complete faith in the character and competence of the individual. This is what I call the 2C Principle: trust means having faith in the character and competence of the individual. What better way to build someone internally than to show that you trust her?

When you trust someone, you naturally involve her in many things: projects, responsibilities, decision-making, meetings. Involvement makes the person interested, enthusiastic and engaged.

It creates a sense of belonging which is what most human beings need at the deepest level. That drives her to become trustworthy. In other words, she wants to work on her character and competence all the time so that she can be involved and included.

So trust leads to involvement and this drives efforts to improve. The internal drive to improve character and competence is what motivation is all about. Motivation, as we all know, originated from the Latin word movere meaning “to move”. The internal drive to move, to improve, is what creates long-lasting improvements in individual results. No amount of external pressure, cajoling or incentivisation is going to make a fig of a difference until the person experiences an internal ignition. That can only come from being accepted and involved.

Internal drive

The internal drive for excellence, motivation, creates a surge in performance. Suddenly, activities get completed much faster. Errors and quality problems decline. Assignments and production processes start delivering “first time right”.

Consequently, efficiency of equipment and effectiveness of people improve. Productivity rises and so costs decline and profit margins increase. These are the results every organisation pursues. So the entire organisation starts experiencing synergy when individuals are trusted, involved and therefore motivated. When individuals drive improvements from within the leader’s battle to achieve results consistently is won!

The challenge is to spark an internal personal kaizen movement in people across the organisation. That can be launched by understanding and applying the virtuous cycle of results: trust, involve and obtain performance that guarantees results.

When results are delivered the leader must ensure that the rewards follow immediately. Many times, for various bureaucratic reasons, recognition is withheld or delayed; that does terminal damage to the cycle of results and short circuits the motivational process entirely.

It is indeed the leader’s duty to create systems that deliver rewards quickly and effectively just as it is the team’s duty to deliver results consistently.

Rewards are not just monetary or promotions or awards. It is equally important to reward achievers by trusting them more and involving them more. Increased responsibilities, investment in capability building and empowerment are perhaps even more important than cash. When such a reward process is implemented a new cycle of results commences.

The leader’s job is to guide and pull people into an upward spiral of growth. For that he will need to be an expert in the use of the virtuous cycle of results by constantly trusting, involving and thereby motivating his team to meet and beat deadlines and milestones. Douglas McGregor’s Theory X days are long gone!

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